syllabus fall 2012 _ engr 312_ sustainable energy entrepreneurship

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Syllabus Fall 2012

Syllabus: ENGR 312 - Sustainable Energy Entrepreneurship

This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the

document or by clicking on any of the links below to jump to a specific section. It is essential that you read the

entiredocument as well as material covered in the Course Orientation. Together these serve as our course

"contract."

Instructor

Course Overview

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

Required Course Materials

Assignments and Grading

Course Schedule

Course Policies

Tips for Success in ENGR 312

Technical Requirements

Instructor
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#technicalrequirementshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#coursepolicieshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#courseschedulehttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#requiredmaterialshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#coursegoalshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#courseoverviewhttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#instructorhttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#technicalrequirementshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#tipssuccesshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#coursepolicieshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#courseschedulehttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#assignmentshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#requiredmaterialshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#coursegoalshttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#courseoverviewhttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32#instructorhttps://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/https://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312


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https://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/print/32 2

Martin Misenhimer

Martin Misenhimer, Instructor of Engineering

Cell Phone:610-909-0643

E-mail: Please use the course e-mail system(see the Communicate tab in ANGEL)

Office Hours: I will check for and reply to messages at least once a day. Please contact me to make an

appointment if you'd like to speak to me at a given time. I am flexible and will make every effort to

accomodate your schedule.

Course Overview

ENGR 312: SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP (3 credits). Three interrelated modules

guide students through technical, international business, and entrepreneurial aspects of sustainable energy.

Prerequisites: EGEE 102. Please note, per university prerequisite policy [1] students who do not meet

these prerequisities may be dis-enrolled during the first 10-day free add-drop period. If you have not yet

compoleted this course, please contact the instructor to request a waiver or drop this course and retake it at a

later date.

ENGR 312 examines three integrated components of the sustainable energy business: technical adaptability,

financial structure, and entrepreneurial savy. The course is conducted entirely on the World Wide Web. There

will be no set class meeting times, but you will be required to complet weekly assignments. The course begins

with a course orientation that provides important information about the course and the course environment, as

well as a quiz covering that information. You must pass the quiz with a 90% or higher in order to unlock the rest

of the course. (You'll be able to take the quiz as many times as needed until your reach 90%.)

There are 12 lessons which will be completed at a rate of 1 lesson per week followed by a Capstone Project.

Assignments will be in the form of Lesson Activities (based on assigned reading for each lesson and utilizing

models and data from a range of sources), Discussion Forums (lively discussion of questions involving personal
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opinion and original thinking), and a Capstone Project (energy business plan). Due dates for all assignments are

posted on the course calendar in ANGEL.

TECHNICAL: The technical component of the course provides an overview of the general concept of energy,

sustainable forms of energy, and the energy auditing process as well as the integration between supply, capacity,

demand, and usage technology. Technical calculations of the power capacity of sustainable energy systems and

the technical limitations, specifications, and feasibility studies of energy systems are also addressed.

BUSINESS: The business component of the course provides an overview of the market and finance aspect of

sustainable energy systems. You will study the feasibility of sustainable energy systems from a business

perspective, as well as perform quantitative cost-benefit analyses that include depreciation of sustainable energy

systems and return on investment. You will also evaluate existing energy business plans.

ENTREPRENEUR: The entrepreneurial component focuses on the skills needed to perform a feasibility study

of market opportunities related to sustainable energy, including entrepreneurial risk and sustainability ethics.

Government incentives and the impact of policy issues on business decisions for sustainable energy systems will

also be addressed. You will learn how to take a global view in the assessment of market needs, gain in-depth

knowledge of ways to obtain public and private financing for a prospective venture, and how to justifyapplications of sustainable energy, including environmental impact.

CAPSTONE: The capstone project will link all three components of the course by requiring you to create your

own energy business plan for a residential or commercial site of your choice. The energy business plan will focus

on the best technical and economic practices in the sustainable energy marketplace.

What I Expect of You

On average, most students spend eight to ten hours per week working on course assignments. Your workload may be more or less depending

on your prior experience with computing and the Web in general, and with the course topics in particular.

I have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. The Internet is still a novel learning

environment, but in one sense it is no different than a traditional college class: how much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you.

You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule, and if you take advantage of opportunities to communicate

with me, as well as with your fellow students.

Specific learning objectives for each lesson and project are detailed within each lesson. The class schedule is published under

the Calendartab in ANGEL (the course management system used for t his course).

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

Course Goals: This course introduces the student to a wide range of considerations regarding entrepreneurship

in the energy field. The production, tansmission, distribution, and consumption of energy has a great impact

on our lives in terms of national secrurity, quality of life, national economics, as well as global and local

envrionmental challenges. Energy is intrinsically linked to the envrionement and the international challenges of

producing and utilizing energy at reasonable cost balanced with appropriate human and envirionmental concerns.

Therefore, it is desirable to produce energy business personnel who understand the energy system at a holistic

level, and yet, still retain the appropriate business skills to meet the challenges ahead.

Upon successful completion of ENGR 312, you should be able to:


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Describe typical renewable energy technologies and their applications

Perform energy audits in a residential or commercial building

Develop an energy conservation plan for a given residential or commercial building

Assess the feasibility for alternative energy use for a given site and building

Calculate the environmental impact of a given sustainable energy system

Design the appropriate alternative energy system for a given site and building, including determining the

size of the system and calculating the energy generated

Prepare and present a detailed implementation plan for a sustainable energy projectCritique a sustainable energy-focused business plan

Write an energy business plan for a selected entrepreneurial venture

Required Course Materials

All materials needed for this course are presented online through our course website and in ANGEL. No

textbook is required. In order to take this course, you need to have an active Penn State Access Account user

ID and password (used to access the online course resources). If you have any questions about obtaining or

activating your Penn State Access Account, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk[2].

Using the Library

Many of Penn State's library resources can be utilized from a distance.

Access electronic databases, and even full text articles, from the LIAS Fast Track.

Borrow materials and have them deliveres to your doorstep...or even your desktop.

Access materials that your instructor has put on Electronic Reserve.

Talk to reference librarians in real time using the "Virtual Reference Service".

...and much more.

NOTE: You must be registered with the University Libraries in order to take full advantage of the

Libraries' resources and servies. Registration and services are free. To register with the Libraries,

and to learn more about their services, see the Library Information for Off-site Users[3]

Assignments and Grading

ENGR 312 will rely upon a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including. The following

list shows the percentage toward the final course grade for each assignment.

Book Report, "Our Common Future" (5%)

Blog Posts (12%)

Discussions Forums (23%)

Each lesson includes a topic where you will be asked to weigh in with your opinion and comment on the

thoughts of others. As long as you respect others and stick to the facts, there is no right or wrong here.

Feel free to have a lively discussion of questions involving personal opinion and original thinking. You'll

be graded on your level of engagement and the level of thinking in your submissions.

Report: EnergyAudit (5%)

Paper: Sustainable Power Generation System Proposal (5%)
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Report: Environmental Impact Statement (5%)

Paper:Interviewa Renewable Energy Company (5%)

Paper:ImplicationsPaper(10%)

Paper: Using Net Present Value (NPV) to Evaluate a Business Project (5%)

Paper: Business Plan Critique (5%)

Capstone Project (20%)

The hands-on capstone design project is an integral part of the course. The project will require you to

write a comprehensive energy-focused project plan. As you progress through the course, you will belinking the technical, business, and entrepreneurial components of the course. Some of these are hands-on

field related activities, whereas others require you to step back and understand the broader picture.

These combined skills will enable you to structure a business plan based on best practices (both technical

and economic) in the sustainable marketplace.

By completing all of the requirements above, you will develop the skills required to do two different tasks:

(1) provide expert analysis to an existing entity regarding a proposed project and (2) develop a sustainable

energy project from an entrepreneurial perspective.

In addition to writing a comprehensive energy-focused project plan, you also need to be able to objectively

critique such project and business plans. You will be required to anonymously critique a classmates planusing SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.

Due dates for all assignments are posted on the course calendar in ANGEL.

Students will earn a grade that reflects the extent to which they achieve the course learning objectives listed

above. Grades are assigned by the percentage of possible points earned in each lesson's activities. Below is a

breakdown of each lesson's value as a percentage of the total course grade.

Grading by assignment type

Assignment Type Weight

Blog Posts (4) 12%

Discussions (10) 23%

Papers (5) 30%

Reports (3) 15%

Capstone Project (1) 20%

I will use the ANGEL gradebook to keep track of your grades. You can see your grades in the gradebook by

clicking the Reportstab in ANGEL, then choosing Gradesfrom the Category dropdown menu, then clicking

Run. A summary table of your grades also appears on the Resources page in ANGEL. Overall course grades

will be determined as follows. Percentages refer to the proportion of all possible points earned.

A 93-100%


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A- 9092.9%

B+ 8789.9%

B 8386.9%

B- 8082.9%

C+ 77-79.9%

C 70-76.9%

D 60-69.9%

F


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Lesson 1 (Global perspective) Book Report due on 9/6

Initial hands-on micro level activities

Week 2 - 9/2

Lesson 2

Adaptability to New Technologies

Discussion - Initial Post due on 9/4

Discussion - Final Posts due on 9/8

Blog Post Assignment, "Searching for

the Niche", due on 9/4

Week 3 - 9/9

Lesson 3

Energy Efficiency: Coordination between Supply,

Capacity, Demand, and Usage Technologies



Blog Post Assignment, "What Have

We Learned?", due on 9/15

Week 4 - 9/16

Lesson 4

Energy Auditing on a Residential and Commercial

Scale



Report: Energy Audit due on 9/22

Week 5 - 9/23

Lesson 5Energy Conservation Strategies on a Residentialand Commercial Scale



Paper: Sustainable Power Generation

System Proposal due on 9/29

Week 6 - 9/30

Lesson 6

Impact of Energy Demand on the Environment



Report: Environmental ImpactStatement and a Progress Report due

on 10/6

Stepping back to look from a business/global

perspective

Week 7 - 10/7

Paper: Conduct "Interview with


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Lesson 7 Market, Legal, and Political Implications of

Energy Sources and Generation

Renewable Energy Business" due on

10/13

Paper: "Implications" due 10/13

Hands-on business level activities

Week 8 -

10/14

Lesson 8

FinanceThe Core of Building an Energy

Business Case

Paper: "Using Net Present Value(NPV) to Evaluate a Business

Project", due on 10/20

Blog Post: "Understanding the Cost

of Capital", due on 10/20

Week 9 -

10/21

Lesson 9

Introduction to Energy Business Plans,

Entrepreneurial Risks and Sustainability Ethics

with a Focus on Odds of Success and Due

Diligence



Week 10 -

10/28

Lesson 10

Analyzing and Critiquing Energy Business Plans



Paper: "Business Plan Critique" due

on 11/3

Stepping back to look from a global

perspective

Week 11

11/4

Lesson 11

Impacts on Energy Business PlansUtilities,

Governments, and Emerging Energy Markets

"Why The Lean Business Start-up

Changes Everything"

Discussion - Initial Post due on

11/6


Final Blog Post: "Market

Analysis", due on 11/10

Pulling it all together

Week 12 -

11/11

Lesson 12

Making the Case for an Energy Business Plan

Capstone Project: "A Sustainable

Energy Business Plan", submission

due by December 3.


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Course Policies

Penn State E-mail Accounts

All official communications from the Penn State World Campus are sent to students' Penn State e-mail

accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly, orforward your Penn State e-mail[4] to

your preferred e-mail account, so you don't miss any important information.

Deferred Grades

If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time, it is possible to

have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. To seek a deferred grade, you must submi

a written request (by e-mail or U.S. post) to your instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. It is

up to your instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If, for

any reason, the course work for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F"

will be automatically entered on your transcript.

Late PolicyLate work is not accepted. If your need to request an exception due to a personal or medical

emergency, contact the instructor. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Course

lessons are available to you in advance. It is your responsibility to plan ahead and work ahead if

necessary to accomodate your personal schedule. This flexibility is one of the great features of online

learning. Take advantage of it!

Academic Integrity

This course follows the guidelines for academic integrity of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral

Sciences[5]. Penn State defines academic integrity as "the pursuit of scholarly project in an open, honest

and responsible manner." Academic integrity includes "a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of

falsification, misrepresentation, or deception." In particular, the University defines plagiarism as "the

fabrication of information and citations; submitting other's work from professional journals, books, articles

and papers; submission of other student's papers, lab results or project reports and representing the work

as one's own." Penalties for violations of academic integrity may include course failure. To learn more, see

Penn State's "Plagiarism Tutorial for Students[6]." I cannot overemphasize the importance of academic

integrity. DO NOT copy and paste from unreferenced sources. Without exception: if you use a

direct quote from any source, as part of any submitted assignment, the quote must be clearly

noted and properly referenced. (In-line references are fine.)

Citation and Reference Style

See our course "Academic Integrity Guide," accessible through the "Resources" menu at left.Accommodating Disabilities

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn

State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Office for Disability Services (ODS) Web

site provides contact information for every Penn State campus: http://equity.psu.edu/ods/dcl[7]. For

further information, please visit the Office for Disability Services Web site: http://equity.psu.edu/ods[8].

In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate

disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview,

and provide documentation: http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelines[9]. If the documentation supports your
http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelineshttp://equity.psu.edu/odshttp://equity.psu.edu/ods/dclhttp://tlt.its.psu.edu/plagiarism/tutorialhttp://www.ems.psu.edu/current_undergrad_students/academics/integrity_policyhttp://kb.its.psu.edu/cms/article/137


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request for reasonable accommodations, your campuss disability services office will provide you with an

accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with

them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you

request accommodations.

Military Personnel

Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g.,

upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and

encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that specialarrangements need to be made.

Inclement Weather

In case of weather-related delays at the University, this online course will proceed as planned. Your

instructor will inform you if there are any extenuating circumstances regarding content or activity due dates

in the course due to weather delays. If you are affected by a weather-related emergency, please contact

your instructor at the earliest possible time to make special arrangements.

Netiquette

The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as e-mail and

bulletin board postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special

guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. Please review Virginia Shea's "The Core

Rules of Netiquette[10]" for general guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this

course.

Connect Online with Caution

Penn State is committed to educational access for all. Our students come from all walks of life and have

diverse life experiences. As with any other online community, the lack of physical interaction in an online

classroom can create a false sense of anonymity and security. While one can make new friends online,

digital relationships can also be misleading. Good judgment and decision making are critical when

choosing to disclose personal information with others whom you do not know.

Tips for Success in ENGR 312

Participate

Odd as it seems, in many ways an online environment gives us greater opportunity to get to know one

other and exchange ideas, challenges and interesting thoughts. Working commuting students often just

barely make it to class after work and then have to rush out the door immediately afterwards to get home

and tend to family responsibilities. Chats with others can be hurried and simple. Now, without the

constraint of having to be in the same place at the same time, we have more opportunity to communicate

with one another. Use the Introductions and Discussion Forums to get to know one another, work

together, learn from one another, and even share a laugh. Its a special opportunity. Youll learn more,

enjoy the course more, and probably make a better grade.

Do the work on time

Lesson Activities are the primary learning assessment tool for this course. In this class, it wont work to

wait three weeks and then cram for an exam. The Activities are designed to be thought provoking and in

many cases require some interpretation. The Questions about EGEE 312? Discussion Forum is a place

where you can work together to reveal problems and questions and give me the chance to redirect or

provide additional information if needed. You will benefit from seeing the postings of others, just as they
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will benefit from seeing yours. I strongly advise not waiting until the last minute to start the

weeks assignments.Give yourself time to ask, think and interact with me and your classmates.

Be responsible and honest

Im glad youre taking this course and hope it is a rewarding experience for you with long-lasting benefits.

Together lets agree to keep it a positive experience. Please review our course policy on Academic

Integrity located below. Treat yourself, your classmates, and the instructor with honesty and respect at al

times. I'll do the same.

Technical Requirements

For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the Dutton Institute Technical

Requirements[11] page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you

need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Outreach Helpdesk[2].

NOTE:Access to a reliable Internet connection is required for this course. A problem with your

Internet access may notbe used as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete coursework. If you

experience problems with your Internet connection while working on this course, it is your

responsibility to find an alternative Internet access point, such as a public library or Wi-Fi hotspot.

Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be

responsible for abiding by any such changes. You will be notified of such changes via Course Announcements.

Authors: Wieslaw Grebski, Associate Professor of Engineering, Shaobiao Cai, Instructor of Engineering, and

Christopher Flynn, Instructor of Engineering,

Penn State Hazleton, A Campus of The Pennsylvania State University.

2014 The Pennsylvania State University

This courseware module is part of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' OER Initiative.

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences is committed to making its websites accessible to all users, and

welcomes comments or suggestions on access improvements. Please send comments or suggestions on

accessibility to the site editor. The site editor may also be contacted with questions or comments about this Open

Educational Resource.
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Source URL:https://www.e-education.psu.edu/engr312/node/32

Links:

[1] http://www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/C-5.html

[2] http://tech.worldcampus.psu.edu/

[3] http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/infosvcs/offcampus.html

[4] http://kb.its.psu.edu/cms/article/137

[5] http://www.ems.psu.edu/current_undergrad_students/academics/integrity_policy

[6] http://tlt.its.psu.edu/plagiarism/tutorial

[7] http://equity.psu.edu/ods/dcl

[8] http://equity.psu.edu/ods

[9] http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelines

[10] http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

[11] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/techspecs
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